Author Q&A : Katharine Johnson author of The Silence (June 2017)

Today the Crime Warp is pleased to host a Q&A with psychological thriller writer Katharine Johnson.  Katharine's  book The Silence was published in June. 

Let's find out a bit more about Katharine and her writing.

Liz: Tell us a bit about your current book release

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Katharine: The Silence was published in June by Crooked Cat Books. The main character Abby has a perfect life – fulfilling career, loving husband, adorable children. But she also has a secret 
which if it ever gets out will destroy everything. The secret goes back 25 years to a summer she spent as a teenager in a Tuscan villa – a summer that ended in tragedy. She’s buried the details of this event at the back of her mind but when human remains are discovered in the grounds of an idyllic Tuscan villa she realises her secret is no longer safe…

Liz:  Where did the inspiration for The Silence come from?

Katharine: I wanted to write a book about an outsider coming into a dysfunctional family and the effect they would have on each other. I love domestic noir and coming of age stories where a choice a young person makes changes the course of their life and stories where somebody’s past is threatening to catch up with them. I set it in Tuscany because I wanted the surroundings to be beautiful and uncomfortably hot so that the events would seem unreal, even dream-like, in Abby’s recollection so she isn’t sure how much of her memories she can trust

Liz: Is there a subsidiary character you have created and are particularly fond of and why?

Katharine: Philippa is the opposite of Abby. She’s a cool, rebellious wild child with a chip on her shoulder. Abby, who is shy, awkward and traumatised by her mother’s suicide is drawn towards Philippa’s strength and positivity but she gradually learns that Philippa’s life is more complicated than it seems and she is hiding something

Liz: Where is your favourite place to write and why?

Katharine: My favourite place to write this book has been in the garden of a house in Tuscany. But I’llwrite anywhere I can snatch enough time – in a café, on a train, on the sofa…

Liz:  Is there a particular book you wish you’d written and why?

Katharine: So many! Anything by Lucie Whitehouse

Liz: Who are your writing heroes and why?

Katharine: I love Barbara Vine’s psychological novels - the way she gets into the heads of people who would largely go unnoticed in society and gives them a fascinating story. I’m also a huge fan of Patricia Highsmith for her amazing plots and compelling flawed characters.

Liz: What is it about Crime fiction as a genre that turns you on?

Katharine: I’m fascinated by how ordinary people cope in extraordinary situations. Not so much people who set out to commit a crime but ones who find themselves drawn into doing so; how they justify their actions to themselves, how they function in society, how they keep their past secret from their loved ones.

Liz: If you were to host a “Come Dine With Me” party, who would you invite from the Crime Fiction fraternity and why?

Katharine: I’m not sure about their cooking abilities or how they’d get on together but I’d love to meet these people:

Sherlock Holmes – incredible powers of deduction

Isabel Dalhousie from the Alexander McCall Smith books – sympathetic, curious philosopher

Miss Marple – shrewd observer

Jackson Brodie from Kate Atkinson’s books – likeable, intelligent, practical

Patricia Highsmith – brilliant creator of scenarios

Liz: Could you describe the book you are working on at the moment using only 5 words?

Katharine: My working title is The Secret. I’d sum it up as ‘Another Secret at Villa Leonida’

Liz: Do you have competing ideas for future projects and have you ever worked on more than one at the same time?

Katharine: Yes, I have a terrible butterfly mind! I have several part-written novels on the go and flit between them.  Thanks so much for having me on your blog Liz. I’ve really enjoyed answering your questions.